A Fair Judge In An Unfair System

By: Bethany Straus

As many attorneys can tell you, the outcome of any court case heavily depends on the judge and their interpretation of the law. This is especially true in rent court.

A thorough study of the Baltimore rent court shows that judges typically give rulings that unfairly favor landlords. See, “Dismissed” by Doug Donovan and Jean Marbella.

This pattern plays out in variety of ways, many of which would be essentially unnoticeable to anyone who is not familiar with rent court rules and proceedings.

As of January 1, 2019, all rental properties in Baltimore City must be licensed, inspected, and registered pursuant to the Baltimore City Code. The only rental properties that are exempt are owner-occupied properties (meaning the owner of the property lives on the property with the tenant). Any landlord in Baltimore City that does not have a rental license may not legally charge rent payments or any other compensation from tenants living on the property. Additionally, landlords without this license are not able to use the rent court system to collect rent when tenants fail to make payments.

When an unlicensed landlord files a complaint against a tenant, a judge should ultimately dismiss the case and instruct the landlord to obtain the proper documentation before attempting to collect any more payments using the judicial system. Additionally, if the Failure to Pay Rent complaint (the document that initiates a rent court hearing) is not filled out accurately and completely, the case should be dismissed so the landlord can refile the case correctly. Therefore, if a landlord fails to indicate the tenant’s military or veteran status, uses a tenant’s nickname instead of their legal name, or writes an incomplete address, the judge should immediately dismiss the case.

Of the rent court cases that I have observed, most cases in which the landlord failed to either provide proof of licensing or accurately complete the complaint have simply been postponed. So, the landlord, who brought the suit, and has the burden to prove that rent is due and owing, oftentimes come to court without the requisite documentation to prove his/her claim.

Fortunately, cases being heard by Judge O’Hara were not subject to these unfair practices. Instead, Judge O’Hara would consistently dismiss cases in which the landlord did not provide proper proof of their license or had failed to complete the Failure to Pay Rent complaint in its entirety.

Some of the cases dismissed on this day include a collection of complaints from a landlord who had forgotten to include a signature, as well as, a case in which the landlord had not written the last digit of the tenant’s zip code, making it impossible for the tenant to have been properly served. Thus, it was dismissed.

Although such fair practices are seemingly a rare find in the rent court, they are clearly possible – so long as the judge is willing to be thorough and consistent in assuring that landlords are held to the proper legal standard.